Fairhope's Pydrae Carroll took leap of faith to win state triple jump

Fairhope's Pydrae Carroll competes in the 110 hurdles at the State Boys Decathlon and Girls Heptathlon Championships Tues., May 15, 2012 in Hoover, Ala. (The Birmingham News/Bernard Troncale)

Fairhope senior Pydrae Carroll reached out to a higher power for success before the final track meet of his high school career.

And he said he believed he received divine intervention.

"Coming into the state championships, I didn't know what to expect," Carroll said. "I didn't have enough confidence in myself, so I went to God. I prayed that he was going to handle it."

God answered Carroll's prayer in a big way, as he delivered a personal-best leap of 49 feet, 6Â½ inches to win the Class 6A state title in the triple jump. It placed him sixth in the nation at the time, according to Dyestat, the high school track and field website.

Carroll's leap remains in the top 10 nationally this season and ranks as the best mark by an Alabama athlete in six years.

"We knew we had it in him," Fairhope coach Tim Yahr said."You always hope that you can get that far, but when you're sixth in the nation, that's pretty good."

The distance surprised Carroll, who will continue his career as a jumper and hurdler at Hinds (Miss.) Community College.

"I didn't think it was going to come out that way," Carroll said. "During the year I just concentrated on doing my best in the small meets as well as the big ones."

Carroll notched victories in two of the Deep South's most prestigious meets -- the Mobile Challenge of Champions and Sugar Bowl Classic.

For dominating the triple jump this season, he has been selected as the Mobile Press-Register's Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

"I'm glad my performances paid off," said Carroll, who was also chosen as the Mobile Optimist Club's 6A Male Track and Field Performer of the Year.

Carroll also finished sixth in the 300-meter hurdles at the 6A state meet and ran in the 110-meter high hurdles.

"Coach Yahr asked me if I could do it, and I said, 'OK,'" he said. "When I started doing the hurdles, I was kind of uncomfortable, but I had to break out of it. I had to stop just jumping over them. As time went on, my technique got better and better."

As impressive as Carroll's performances were, they almost didn't happen.

"My folks were moving to Bay Minette, and I planned to move with them, but if I had done that, I would have been ineligible to compete at Fairhope," he said. "So I just stayed with my grandparents (who lived in Fairhope) so I could compete."

Added Yahr, "I was certainly glad of that. He's done really great this season, and it's been a joy to have coached him." <EP>